RyersonUniversity
School of Image Arts
Film * New Media * Photography
COURSE OUTLINE
2002 – 2003
Course Code:NPF 036
Instructor:Lily Alexander
Office: R306
Office Hours: Thursday and Friday 1-2 p.m.
Email:
Course Name:Art History/Theories of Art
Course Subtitle:
20th Century Mythemes and Movements –
from Modernism to Postmodernism:
Studies in Artistic Consciousness and the Artistic Models of the Universe
Calendar Description:This course enables students to concentrate on twentieth-century art and aesthetics. Artistic movements, currents and theories of the twentieth century will be examined as well as their effects on the methodology of art history and on cultural institutions such as the museum. The concepts which constitute modernism, postmodernism, and the avant-garde will be addressed both historically and theoretically.
Lecture: 3 hours.
Course Content/Schedule:This elective course investigates the high points of twentieth-century art and culture from both European and North American perspectives. Designed for students with an interest in the exploration of the most influential artistic movements and contemporary art theories, the course aims to provide its participants with a solid overview of the ever expanding concerns, practices, discourses, and theories informing the making and the study of twentieth-century art.
Designed as an interdisciplinary course, Art History/Theories of Art will study all forms of twentieth-century art in their mutual influence and interaction, including visual arts, architecture, literature, theatre, photography, cinematography, and music. Students will be introduced to a variety of research methods and approached to art, such as the anthropology of art, the semiotics of art, the philosophy of art, as well as art and cultural theory.
From Modernism to Postmodernism, the art of the past century places increasing demands on its audience as it asserts its significance and purpose within contemporary society. Accordingly, among the objectives of this course will be the identification and the assimilation of conceptual methodologies and practical strategies that will facilitate the understanding of the art of our time.
It is essential to begin our investigation by reviewing the foundations of modernism and its precursors in previous cultural eras. The course will progress along both chronological and theoretical lines, following the logic of development of major artistic movements, as well as their theorization by the contemporaries, as well as by the key twentieth-century cultural thinkers.
Conceived more as an interactive seminar than as a series of formal lectures, this course will demand active and sustained participation on your part. Most importantly, your success will depend in a large measure upon your willingness to undertake a serious individual research project and to contribute on a regular basis to the class discussions that will form the backbone of this course.
As you undoubtedly already know, the complexities of contemporary art and critical theory cannot be disentangled and explored effectively without a personal commitment to reading. While every effort will be made and all available pedagogical tools employed to facilitate this process, ultimately it is up to you to rise to the occasion. For those willing to meet the challenge, the rewards will be invaluable, as you will gain an informed perspective that will enrich your personal experience of contemporary art.
To ensure active participation, all of you will be required to make class presentations throughout the year. This approach will be used to report on reading assignments, as well as for research projects.
The outline of key themes of our weekly meetings will be based on students’ research interests and will be made available together with students’ presentation topics at the beginning of October.
Course Structure:
The course will spend approximately three weeks on each of the following segments:
The Power of Images: Precursors of Modernism
The Artist as a Demiurge: The Artistic Revolution and the Birth of Modernism
Dreams and Fears: Art between Two World Wars
Art between Absurd and Violence
The Crisis of Representation: Post-Holocaust Culture
“New Waves” and the Neomodernist Movements of the 1950s and 1960s
The Poetics of Triviality: from Pop-Art to Postmodernism
After-Images and After-Narratives:
Visual Culture: A New Cultural Code of the New Millennium
Required Text:The following title forms an integral part of the required reading assignments for this course. It is essential that you obtain your own copy as the book contents will be closely reflected within the overall structure of this course.
Bernard Blistene, A History of 20th-Century Art (Flammarion, Paris, 2002).
Recommended Text:
Jonathan Fineberg, Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being, 2d. ed. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000), ISBN 0-8109-4209-7 (hc); 0-1308-5843-9 (pbk).
ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY will be provided. A small working library/set of books on the subject is available from the instructor and will be kept in her office. In addition to the primary textbook, supplemental readings will be assigned throughout the year. These readings will serve as a basis for class discussion. Copies of the readings will be made available. A list of additional required and recommended readings will be provided.
Among the useful publication to begin any research in the history of art is the monumental Dictionary of Art edited by Jane Turner and published in 34 volumes under the Grove imprint in 1996. This treasure-trove of information can be found in the reference section of the Ryerson Library under the call number N31. D5 1996 REF.
Evaluation Methods:Attendance and class participation
Presentation
Course research project
Course Journal, Term 1
Course Journal, Term II.
Each assignment is worth 20% of the course mark. Please note that all of the above assignment components must be completed in order to receive a final grade. All assignments (except in class tests) must be typed: handwritten work is not accepted. Late submissions are not accepted (except for such cases as illness, family emergency or other special circumstances subject to the instructor’s discretion). Students are required to submit an abstract no later than a week before one’s presentation. Students’ presentations and research in progress will be discussed during one-on-one consultations. Please ensure that your schedule an appointment with the instructor within two weeks after your presentation. Additional consultations on research in progress are available.
Attendance is mandatory. According to the rules of the Department, no student can pass this course if s/he did not attend/submit two or more out of five assessments/assignments per academic year, or missed three or more classes per term (six per year) without legitimate reasons. Three ‘lates’ is equivalent to one ‘absent.’
According to the new regulations of the University, students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Use of the Turnitin.com service is subject to the terms of use agreement posted on the Turnitin.com site. All assignments should be submitted as both a hard copy and as an electronic version. For the course paper students have to submit photocopies of the title pages and of the quoted pages from at least three books or articles used in the preparation of the assignment At least thirty percent of the course paper must directly refer to the material covered in class (lectures and class discussions). Instructors have the right to require an oral exam for any student suspected in plagiarism. A proven case of plagiarism or cheating will result in an “F” and administrative actions.
Notes:Dates and topics of the course calendar are subject to change,
however the instructor will make every effort to follow the course calendar. Students who miss a test without a legitimate reason will not be given a make up test. This rule also applies to the class when a Take Home Test is administered. Any other alterations to the course, including assignments, tests, grade weights, due dates, or assignment format will be discussed in class prior to implementation.